Tag: Milwaukee Admirals

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Comparing College Hockey to the Pros

The first few years that college hockey players play professionally have a tendency to be either feast or famine.  Some players like Jonathan Toews, Joe Pavelski, Zach Parise, Blake Wheeler and Dany Heatley adjust their games quickly to pro level, while others like Kyle Turris, Kevin Porter, Ryan Duncan and T. J. Hensick struggle adapting their games to the faster professional pace.

Current Nashville Predators goaltender Mark Dekanich is a player that has had lot of success in his young professional career.  Dekanich’s success came after he excelled playing four years of Division 1 college hockey at Colgate University.  The 2005-2006 season was the Raiders’ best of the past decade, as Dekanich, then a sophomore, backstopped Colgate to ECAC regular season championship.

Recently Dekanich chatted with me about the differences between playing college hockey and professional hockey:

Which is more difficult, playing college hockey or professional hockey?

Dekanich: “In college we had a lot more to do.  We practiced everyday just like we do now, but after practiced we had to go home and read for class, write papers, prepare for tests and do other things like that.  It is actually less work as a professional.  When were done at the rink, we’re done for the day, so after that I have to go home and try find something for myself to do to pass the rest of the day away.”

What are some some of things you learned from your college experience that paid off during your time as a professional?

Dekanich: “There were a lot of things I had to learn like living on my own.  That helped prepare me for things like cooking for myself now that I play pro.”

To read more from my interview with Dekanich, check out my feature on the netminder on MilwaukeeAdmirals.com.

So Roundtable, this year’s Admirals feature several ex-college players, such as Blake Geoffrion, Ryan Flynn, Chris Mueller, Scott Ford, Grant Lewis, Mike Barlett, Mark Van Guilder and Ryan Thang.
Which players have adjusted their games the best to the professional level, which are still a work in progress, and which are too early to tell?

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Admirals Road Trip Lessons

During the life of a hockey season, there tend to be a few turning points, positive and negative that have an effect on the course of a whole campaign.  During the Admirals 10-game November road swing, a couple of major momentum shifts occurred.

Milwaukee started off the trip hot, then went ice cold in the middle, but finished the trip strong.   In the process, the Admirals became a better team now than they were prior to leaving Milwaukee for an extended period of time.

So what do the players and coaches think were the lessons from the trip?

Coach Lane Lambert:

“I think the biggest quality we took from the trip was our ability to learn from adversity, and for us to overcome and come together as a group.  During the middle the trip we went through a bit of a tough patch, but I thought our leadership really showed through.  It was a learning experience for us to go through that adversity, but adversity can make you stronger if you go about it in the right way.  I think we did a good job of (dealing) with it.”

(Now Nashville) goaltender Mark Dekanich:

“Anytime your on the road for such a long period of time like that it brings guys together.  I think it’s a good experience especially for the younger guys, who are playing in their first year as a professional, to get to see how the veterans handle themselves on the road and to see what we need to do to be successful.  There was a lot of ups and downs during the trip, but I think we did a fairly good job of managing that.  We were 5-3-2 on that than 10 game swing, which is not too bad.”

Defenseman Scott Ford:

“I think anytime you go on the road for such a long period of time, it gives your team a chance to jell together and kind of learn a little bit about each other.  You spend a lot of time together, eat meals together and get to know each other more on a personal level, so that can help you jell as a team.  I think we saw that with this trip.”

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Grading the Admirals Through the First Quarter of the Season

Offense (B-): Clearly, coach Lane Lambert has some work to do with Milwaukee in making the Admirals a more dangerous offensive hockey team.  Other than Linus Klasen and a few other players, Milwaukee isn’t blessed with an abundance of firepower.  Therefore the offense has to come by way of committee effort–a Nashville trademark.  Prior to the road trip, the Admirals got goals from players on their top three lines, but that dried up some in Texas and Oklahoma.  Milwaukee averages 2.55 goals per game, which is not going to cut it long term.

Defense (B+): This might have been the hardest grade for me to judge. 90% of time Milwaukee has really impressed me in their own end, preventing their opponent from getting quality scoring chances against.  Allowing just 2.36 goals against per game is a testament to the Admirals efforts in the defensive zone.  However, lapses at bad times have proved punishing for Milwaukee.

Goaltending (A-): If this only had to do with the performance of Mark Dekanich, I would state it as an A or A+, but No. 2 slot has hardly been reliable so far for Milwaukee.  It’s nice to see Jeremy Smith picking up some much needed wins for the Admirals, but Milwaukee really needs Chet Pickard to elevate his game to the higher level he seems more than capable of reaching, but for some reason hasn’t found yet.

Special Teams (C-): Carrying a power play ranked 20th in the AHL at 15.8% and penalty kill ranked 18th working at an 82.1% efficiency just isn’t going to cut it long term.  The power play in particular went cold as the Admirals headed south on the road.  For a team that struggles at times to score goals, special teams could prove to be a decisive weapon for Milwaukee competing against more offensively gifted clubs.

Final Grade (A-): Milwaukee has far exceeded my expectations through the first quarter of the season, which is a credit to Lambert efforts and the efforts of the team as a whole.  The Admirals were a young and unproven club to start the year, but prior the extended road trip the club was starting to form solid identity as a tough team to play against.  But don’t mistake young and unproven for a lack of talent.  There is plenty of talent in Milwaukee to build a winning hockey club, and so far Lambert has the Admirals heading in the right direction toward to a berth in the AHL playoffs.

So Roundtable, What are your grades for the Admirals so far?

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Five Things I’m Thankful For

1) The Admirals Team Speed.  During my preseason chats, a one word description from defenseman Scott Ford on his early impressions of Milwaukee really stood out.  The 2010-2011 Admirals would be–Dynamic.  It was a surprising thought, but watching Milwaukee play that is exactly the description I have for team so far.  The youthful Admirals play an up tempo, high speed game that is a joy to watch when it is all on the same page.  Sure Milwaukee suffered through plenty of growing pains in the early going, but when everything is clicking, the Admirals pack a high octane punch.

2) Mark Dekanich’s Goaltending.  There has something in Mark Dekanich’s eye this season, a look of determination that says the puck just isn’t getting by him.  At 24-years old the maturing goaltender is off to a fantastic start, allowing just 21 goals against in his first 13 games of action.  Even more impressive is the work load Dekanich has taken on.  Playing nearly every night in Milwaukee, Dekanich has been between the pipes in all but one of his team’s wins.  If Dekanich continues at numbers in the ballpark of his current pace, expect interested calls from NHL teams to start raining in Milwaukee’s ears.

3) The Wow Factor of Linus Klasen. On opening night it didn’t take long for me take notice of Linus Klasen on the ice—about one shift.  From that point, Klasen has been joy to watch and follow.  Every time the puck is on his stick, it seems like some electric is about to happen.  Perhaps Klasen in Swedish means instant offense, because that is exactly what the 24-year old has provided for Milwaukee this season.

4) The Candor and Color of Coach Lane Lambert.  If there is one person qualified to be annoyed with me this season, it would have to be Lane Lambert.  But credit to the Admirals coach, he has put up with my questions no matter what mood he is in, including the days where Milwaukee’s practices were driving him crazy.  All kidding aside, I really appreciate how generous Lambert and all of the Admirals players have been with their time and their comments.

5) Admirals Fans. Through the first quarter of the season, Milwaukee’s faithful supporters have been a pleasure to interact with.  I love seeing your comments, your thoughts and your critical assessments.  It makes churning out my weekly posts that much easier.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Round Table faithful.

So Roundtable, Regarding the Milwaukee Admirals, what are you most thankful for?

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Three Things Milwaukee is Doing Well, Three Things the Admirals Need to Work on.

Three things Milwaukee is doing well:

1)  The play of Mark Dekanich.

Off to a blazing start, goaltender Mark Dekanich is clearly the MVP of the Admirals in the early going this season.  In 11 games of action, Dekanich has allowed just 16 goals, while racking up eight wins against just two losses.  His statistics are staggering, headlined by a goals against average of 1.48 and a save percentage of 94.5, which are far and away the best in the AHL.  The only issue between the pipes that Milwaukee has faced so far is that Dekanich can’t play every night.

2) Turning defense into offense.

Prior to season Milwaukee’s strength appeared to be its defense.  Through the first 15 games this season the Admirals blueline has been stout, limiting quality scoring chances against.  But the Admirals defense is also keying an impressive transition game.  Jonathon Blum, Roman Josi, and Teemu Laakso represent three of the best two-way defenders in the AHL, and all three are off to great starts.

3) Balanced Scoring.

Sporting a balanced offensive attack is pivotal to success in hockey, especially at the AHL level.  Teams that feature only one scoring line usually go haywire in the middle of the season when NHL teams are forced to make significant injury call ups.   So far Milwaukee has found a nice balance on the score sheet, getting offensive contributions from each of its first three lines.  Linus Klasen remains the focal point with eight goals and 14 points, but Milwaukee features 12 players with five points or more through the first 15 games of the season, making the Admirals a tough team to matchup against.

Three things the Admirals need to work on:

1) Improve special teams.

Through 15 games, Milwaukee stands tied for fifth overall in league points, sporting an impressive 9-3-3 record.  But the special teams have lagged behind during the Admirals fast start.  Milwaukee owns a decent power play, ranked 14th and clicking at a 17.6% clip.  But strangely the penalty kill has lagged behind.  The Admirals rank just 17th overall, successful at killing penalties 82% of the time.  In order to remain among the league’s elite teams, Milwaukee must improve on its special teams play.

2) Find a solid No. 2 in net.

It seems inevitable that Mark Dekanich will get a well-deserved NHL shot, whether with Nashville or via a transaction to another team.  But even if Dekanich stays in the AHL all season, Milwaukee still faces seven more occasions of three games in three nights, including two on the upcoming Texas swing.  With a win in his first start this season with Milwaukee, maybe Jeremy Smith can be the solution to the Admirals backup goaltender quagmire.

3) Get Blake Geoffrion on the scoreboard.

No player in Milwaukee faces a microscope quite like Blake Geoffrion, who got off to a slow start.  But Geoffrion showed signs of figuring things out prior to getting knocked out of Milwaukee’s 4-1 win against Chicago on November 7 (Geoffrion hasn’t been back in game action since).  When he does comeback, getting that first goal should spark a surge in Geoffrion’s offensive game.

So Roundtable, what do you think are Milwaukee’s strengths and weaknesses in the early going?

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Linus Klasen Looking to Reignite His Offense Against Lake Erie

Despite scoring eight goals in his first 11 games with Milwaukee, Admirals forward Linus Klasen is hardly content with his performance so far.

“Of course I am happy with my production so far, but I am never satisfied,” Klasen said.  “I am going to keep working every day to try to keep producing even more.   If you get satisfied, that’s when it can turn around on you really fast.”

The gifted Swede, who is scoreless in his last two games, hopes to reignite his offense this weekend against Lake Erie, a team that is missing its top goaltender.  Longtime NHL veteran John Grahame is currently up with the Colorado Avalanche with starter Craig Anderson injured for an indefinite period of time.

Speaking of the Monsters, this weekend Milwaukee will see a team that has a lot of similarities to themselves.  Lake Erie is a young and dynamic squad that is growing in confidence with every game.

“Grand Rapids and Lake Erie are both very good teams and fast teams, so we will be challenged (this week),” Milwaukee coach Lane Lambert said.

Several names on the Monsters should be familiar to Wisconsin hockey fans.  Lake Erie’s fifth leading scorer is former Badgers forward Matthew Ford.  At least three other Monsters played for the University of Minnesota, including R. J. Anderson, Ryan Stoa and Mike Carman.

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How Milwaukee Can Beat Chicago

When the puck drops Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center, Milwaukee will try to do something that they haven’t all season—beat Chicago.

In the three prior meetings with the Wolves, the Admirals have found three different ways to drop games.  It started with a 3-2 loss in overtime at home on October 15, then a 3-2 shootout defeat the next night in Chicago, and finally falling 4-3 in a regulation decision on October 24 at Allstate Arena.

For Milwaukee coach Lane Lambert, the first step toward knocking off Chicago starts with better netminding.

“We have to get good goaltending,” Lambert said. “I feel like we should have won two out of the three games against the Wolves, but we didn’t get saves when we needed them.”

Lambert also believes that a consistent effort against Chicago will go a long way toward getting that first win against last year’s West Division champs.

“We have to string a full 60 minutes together against them,” Lambert said.  “In the past we’ve had lulls and it hurt us on the scoreboard.”

Newly acquired Steve Begin, who played his first game with the Admirals against Chicago agrees with Lambert, but also believes Milwaukee needs to pay more attention to the little things.

“We made a lot of mistakes in that game,” Begin said.  “But we can beat them if we skate for 60 minutes, have good communication on the ice and take care of the details.”

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November’s Only Home Stand Looms Large for Milwaukee

Brace yourself Admirals fans:  Milwaukee’s schedule is about to take another nasty turn.

In the month of November the Admirals have just three measly home games and none past this Sunday’s game meeting with Chicago.  Therefore this week’s matchups—games against Rockford on Wednesday, Peoria on Friday, and the team’s fourth meeting of season with the Wolves on Sunday—represent a vital stretch for Milwaukee to gain significant points in the AHL standings.

“We would really like to get the month off on the right foot considering we’re going on the road for the next ten games,” Admirals coach Lane Lambert said.  “That’s the general objective for these next three games—for us to have a strong start.”

The other key to this week’s contests is that they are West Division games played against Milwaukee three closest geographic rivals.  Currently, the Admirals sit in sixth place in the West, chasing both Chicago and Peoria.  Milwaukee could move up the ladder by claiming four or more points on the week.

Obviously, the first days of November is far too early in the season to start worrying about Milwaukee’s playoff positioning.  But a couple of big home wins this week would make life a lot less stressful on Lambert’s crew as the Admirals head south for the latter half of the month.

So, Roundtable:  How many points do you think Milwaukee will get out of these next three games?  Would anything less than four be considered a disappointment?  Why?

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Milwaukee Journeys to Abbotsford to Face a Familiar Foe

There is one team in the AHL not like the others—the Abbotsford Heat.

Located just over an hour’s drive east of Vancouver, British Colombia, Abbotsford is most geographically isolated city in the AHL.  The nearest league city to the Heat is Winnipeg, Manitoba, which is located three Canadian provinces further east, or over a day’s drive by bus.  (Check out the Map of all the AHL team locations here)

Therefore when teams travel to Abbotsford, it is often for a two-game stint in order to reduce travel expenses.  This weekend Milwaukee has unenviable task of making the western trek.

But what makes this year’s trip even more peculiar is that it represents the final meetings between Milwaukee and Abbotsford this season.

“There’s parts of our schedule I don’t like, and parts I like, and it’s going to be that way every year,” Admirals coach Lane Lambert said.  “It’s bizarre that we play the same team four times in the first month of the season and then we don’t see them again.”

So far the Admirals have burned the Heat, winning both of their home games by a combined 9-3 count. Milwaukee has counted for half of Abbotsford’s losses so far this season.

“Obviously we’ll be very familiar with each other by the time the final buzzer goes next Saturday,” Lambert said.

Speaking of familiar, one player on the Heat Admirals fans should recognize is former Wisconsin Badgers defenseman Joe Piskula.

After playing five games in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings in 2006-2007, Piskula’s career stagnated with the Manchester Monarchs.  The Antigo, Wisconsin native is hoping a change of scenery to the Canadian Northwest may reinvigorate his once promising career.

So what do think Roundtable?  Should the AHL balance the schedule out more?  Or does the league’s special case of Abbotsford make the scheduling quirk ok?

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What Steve Begin Brings to Milwaukee

Anytime a player with an NHL pedigree such as Steve Begin’s gets assigned to an AHL club, the league’s fans get excited.  These players offer the hardcore hockey fan a name they can recognize and not a prospect they have to do their homework on.

But for the Admirals supporters who don’t know much about Steve Begin, let me shine a little light on the subject.  At 32-years old Begin is no rookie.  His best offensive days (10 goals in 2003-2004 and 11 in 2005-2006) are behind him, yet Begin proved effective in his checking role with the Boston last year.  This was especially true during the playoffs when Begin took advantage of expanded ice time as the Bruins lost key players to injuries.  During the off-season Begin likely would have resigned in Boston if the Bruins weren’t so strapped by salary cap issues.

Despite his limited offensive game, Begin remains an effective two-way forward and a menace to play against.  The Quebec-native is a constant competitor on the ice, who skates with a work ethic that makes him easy to coach.

Therefore Begin seems a natural fit in blue-collar organization like Nashville, a team that prides itself in playing a gritty style.  Begin’s time in Milwaukee will involve conditioning to get his NHL legs back under him after he missed all of training camp as an unsigned free agent.

However, if an opportunity on the Predators third or fourth line appears, expect Begin to be one of the first players General Manager David Poile inquires about.

(Author’s Note:  Steve Begin played his first game with the Milwaukee Admirals Sunday at Chicago, picking up an assist, while centering the team’s starting line with Chris Mueller and Gabriel Bourque.  He also took a controversial penalty late in third period that effectively ended Milwaukee’s comeback hopes.  To hear coach Lane Lambert thoughts on the call, check out Andy Grebe’s game recap Blog, Wolves Fend Off Ads 4-3:  https://admiralsroundtable.com/2010/10/24/wolves-fend-of-ads-4-3/)